7 of the coolest gadgets announced at IFA 2018, Europe's biggest tech show of the year

Avery Hartmans

Sep. 1, 2018, 10:11 AM

Bang & Olufsen

Europe's biggest tech show of the year is underway, which means gadget makers from across the globe have unveiled some of their coolest products of the year.

IFA - or Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin - takes place at the end of each summer, and is one of the world's largest consumer electronics shows. This year, tech companies ranging from Lenovo to Sennheiser to Bang & Olufsen are presenting cool new products like dual-screen laptops, wireless earbuds, and even a speaker that looks like a free-standing wheel.

2. Sony's new waterproof speaker has a strobe light and Google Assistant.

The new speaker, which Sony debuted at IFA, is water-resistant and dustproof. It has multicolored lights, extra bass, and a flashing strobe, and Sony says it can get up to 16 hours of battery life. Plus, it has Google Assistant built-in. Altogether, it might be the perfect party speaker.

Danish audio brand Bang & Olufsen launched a brand-new speaker at IFA - and it has a curious shape and size.

The speaker, called the Beosound Edge, looks like a giant, hyper-minimalist wheel. You can either rest it upright in a room, or hang it on a wall, and it has a few neat tricks built in: It senses when you're close to it and lights up, and rolling it forward or backward will adjust the volume.

The Beosound Edge comes with AirPlay 2, Chromecast 2, and Bluetooth, and works with voice assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant.

The speaker will cost 3,250 Euros - about $3,770 US dollars - and will be available in mid-November.

4. Sennheiser made a pair of high-end $300 wireless earbuds.

The new buds let you blend ambient sound with your music to make your more aware of your surroundings, and let you use voice assistants like Siri and Google Assistant. The buds are also splash- and sweat-resistant.

Sennheiser's True Wireless earbuds only get about four hours of battery life, but can be charged up inside their case. The buds cost $299 and go on sale sometime in mid-November.

5. Skagen introduced the Falster 2, a new and improved smartwatch with GPS, swim proofing, and a heart rate sensor.

The Falster 2 looks nearly identical to the previous model, but has a few major differences inside: most notably GPS tracking, a heart rate tracker, and swim proofing.

The new watch comes in four colors - rose gold, silver, gray, and black - and has a few new watch faces and programmable buttons.

The Skagen Falster 2 starts at $275, but Skagen hasn't said yet when or where it will be available.

6. The Polaroid OneStep+ is a $160 Bluetooth-enabled analog camera.

Polaroid Originals

The Polaroid OneStep+ looks and feels like an analog camera, but it has the ability to connect to your smartphone.

You can instantly snap a photo, but you can also use creative tools to edit your images in an accompanying smartphone app and share them online immediately. The new camera also comes with a portrait lens, flash, and rechargeable battery.

The OneStep+ costs $160 and is available to buy now.

7. Lenovo's Yoga Book C930 has both an LCD laptop screen and an E Ink display.

Lenovo

Lenovo's Yoga Book C930 is an unusual laptop: It has an E Ink display on one side, and an LCD laptop screen on the other side. Like other Yoga Books, you can have it sit upright like a laptop - using the E Ink display in keyboard mode - or you can fold it over and use the device in tablet mode.

The Yoga Book C930 is super-thin - it's 4mm thick at its thinnest point - and weighs less than two pounds. Lenovo says you'll get about 10 hours of battery life.